Top 10 Dwelling Details in Hamilton
- Dev Team
- 24 Apr 2015
Are you house-hunting in Hamilton? Of course you are. Or maybe it just seems like everyone is on the prowl lately – the competition is astonishing. As someone who has been living and breathing MLS listings, square footage and falling mortgage rates recently, I can tell you it’s an urban jungle out there. After touring dozens of houses, I’ve learned to appreciate the small features that set a home apart. For me, the deal is in the details. Here are several exterior niceties that always catch my eye.
1. MIRROR, MIRROR, ON THE (PORCH) WALL…
I’ve always liked when people bring the indoors out. This mirror on a front porch is a great example. Well placed small shelves, summer drapery, interesting iron work or art all add personality and make spending the few summer months we have outside more beautiful. However, dear Hamilton, this does not mean that I like to see rotten couches, mattresses and the blasted third bench seat from a van taking up space on the porch. Call for special pick up, people!
2. BEAUTIFUL SAFETY MEASURES
Most houses have porch railings, good for leaning on and unsuccessfully staging headless horseman photos (remember the post-planking short-lived fad of 2011?), so I always love to come across ones that are unique. This custom railing is beautifully fluid, reminds me of sheet music and stands out from the block.
3. SCALE FOR THE SALE
I like to think that if I had had a rock-climbing wall on the side of my house like this one, I wouldn’t have abandoned my brief stint as a climber so quickly. Although I’ve also said, “If I put the dumbbells next to my desk, I’ll totally use them more often!” Either way this is a fun and quirky surprise to come across as you do a walkthrough. I applaud the creativity as a unique way to give kids (or adults) a reason to get some fresh air.
4. THE COUNTDOWN
This is the easiest and least expensive way to delight me as a homebuyer. Seeing the ‘builder basic’ house numbers is so dull. I’ve noticed a lot of these narrow black or brushed nickel numbers lately and I really like them. Bonus points awarded for unusual ways of mounting them and homeowners who write the number out in script.
5. CASTLES IN THE SKY
It is nearly impossible to tour a turret room and not visualize for a moment that you are in a fairy tale. There are so many great ones in this city and they give the house an air of fantasy. Logistically, I’m not exactly sure exactly how one would furnish it, but I’m guessing beanbag chairs and crokinole tables.
6. HEAVY, YET LIGHT
One of my favourite early evening pastimes is walking my dog through my neighbourhood and seeing the glow from front doors and windows that cast stunning reflections my way. Lead glass windowpanes are the most beautiful treasure of old houses, and can be found in the least assuming neighbourhoods. The intricacy, symmetry and detail make them the perfect counterpart to stained glass, a close second.
7. KNOCK THREE TIMES
You may remember the Doors of Hamilton poster series from the 1990s where some of the city’s most interesting and attractive doors were photographed. The city certainly has even more today. From heavy oak and brightly coloured to aforementioned lead glass and brass kick plates, coming and going can be a work of art. One of my “Life List” items is to live in a house with a red door and I’ll admit that steers a lot of my house hunting.
8. GILDING THE LILY
Of course, as with Pez candy, roller coasters and Julia Rob- erts movies, there can sometimes be too much of a good thing. Such is the case with this house that takes exterior tchotchkes up a notch. I like to stand in front of it for a while and take it all in. I see new things each time – it’s like a Where’s Waldo book. The slightly unsettling thing is that sometimes in the summer, the clearly interesting owner likes to sit unnoticed in an adorned throne chair and watch the passersby. It makes it strange… or more strange maybe.
9. TRILLIUM AWARD
The ultimate exterior detail that signals a beautiful home, or at least a picturesque yard, is the Trillium Award. As an incentive to enhance curb appeal, the three categories of the Trillium Award (White, Pink, Red) have been presented to residents in Hamilton since 1956. Nominations are not required as every home is considered during the first two weeks of July. Now knowing this, I will be sure to dead head my flowers more diligently, which will also please my mother a great deal.
10. MISSED THE BOAT
Of course, just as we often covet our dining companion’s order, sometimes the most enviable exterior element of a home is a “SOLD” sign. As the competition is currently so fierce in this city, a lot of homes receive many vying offers and sell for well above the asking price. Seeing a “SOLD” sign on your recently purchased house is a thrilling sight, but on a house you lost out on, it means the search continues. Sigh.
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